The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a functional block diagram of an engine system 100 is presented. The engine system 100 includes an engine 102 that combusts an air/fuel mixture to generate torque. Air is drawn into the engine 102 through an intake manifold 104. A throttle valve 106 is controlled by an electric throttle controller (ETC) 108 and controls the amount of air drawn into the engine 102.
A fuel injector 110 injects fuel that mixes with air to form the air/fuel mixture. The air/fuel mixture is compressed and combusted within one or more cylinders of the engine 102, such as cylinder 112. Exhaust gas resulting from combustion is expelled from the engine 102 to an exhaust system 116. An engine control module (ECM) 130 controls torque output by the engine 102. For example, the ECM 130 controls torque output by the engine 102 based on driver inputs, such as accelerator and brake pedal positions. A driver input module 132 receives the driver inputs and transmits the driver inputs to the ECM 130.
The engine system 100 includes one or more glow plugs, such as glow plug 118. For example, one glow plug may be provided for each cylinder of the engine 102. The glow plug 118 generates heat and warms portions of the engine 102 when the glow plug 118 is activated. For example, the glow plug 118 may be used to warm an inner surface of the cylinder 112.
A glow plug control module 150 controls activation and deactivation of the glow plug 118 based on a driver input and/or various operating conditions. The driver input may include manipulation of a device and/or an ignition key within the vehicle. The operating conditions include engine coolant temperature, oil temperature, intake air temperature, and/or any other suitable operating condition. For example only, the glow plug control module 150 activates the glow plug 118 when the driver actuates the ignition key to a predetermined location and a temperature is less than a predetermined temperature.